


What Could We Have Done Differently?

by CheshireChett



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:52:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireChett/pseuds/CheshireChett
Summary: Varian is infected with an ancient disease and begs for help.





	What Could We Have Done Differently?

“Rapunzel...”

 

“In a minute, Varian.” She turned back to the king, ready to argue. 

 

“Rapunzel, I don’t feel so good.” 

 

Varian coughed violently. Rapunzel spun around to face him. Her eyes widened. The young alchemist looked sickly, his face paling and his bright blue eyes dulling. He doubled over as though he was punched, grunting in pain. 

 

“Varian!” Rapunzel reached for him. 

 

Eugene pulled her away. 

 

“Blondie, no!” he yelled. “Everyone, get back! He’s infected.”

 

Varian gripped his stomach with one hand, his other hand at his mouth trying to contain whatever has come up his throat. It tasted bitter and sharp. It’s too much to keep in. He tried to swallow it, but more came up, causing him to let some of it escape from his lips. The black ooze dripped down his hand and glove and on to the floor. 

 

His throat burned. 

 

His stomach hurts so much. 

 

His eyes stung as he tried to hold back his tears. 

 

Some of it was pushed through his nose. Varian fell to the ground, removing his hand from his mouth as he coughed more guck up. An alarmingly large amount dropped from his mouth. Tears escaped his burning eyes as he looked at the horrified faces. He reached with his slime-covered hand, causing a couple of people to back away a bit. 

 

“Please,” he croaked, “Rapunzel, help me.” 

 

Rapunzel hesitated before taking a step forward. Eugene caught her arm. 

 

“Rapunzel, don’t,” the ex-thief warned, “This could be the disease talking.” Rapunzel stared at her boyfriend, then looked back at Varian. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His face was contorted in pain. She could feel her heart break for the boy. He’s so young...

 

The princess inhaled deeply and took a step back. The alchemist’s eyes widened. 

 

“Rapunzel, please,” he begged, “you promised.” She looked away from him. His hand dropped. 

 

“I’m sorry, Varian,” she said, softly, her voice wavering as tears rolled down her cheeks. He stared at her in agony, then shifted his gaze to Quirin. 

 

“Dad,” he whimpered, “please.”

 

Quirin gazed at his only son. How could something like this happen? Why couldn’t he be more like him? Why did he have to poke his nose into everything? Why did he have to have his mother’s curiosity? A part of him strongly wanted to go over to Varian and comfort him. It doesn’t matter if he was infected, too. At least he wouldn’t have to watch the last of his family die a painful death. However, the other part of him knew that if he did that, no one else would be able to find the cure. No one else would be able to decipher Varian’s notes on the disease. 

 

He looked away from Varian. He couldn’t bear to see him like this anymore. 

 

Varian’s breathing heightened. No one wanted to help him. How could they? How could they do this to him? One moment they were helping him find a cure, the next they didn’t want to come within a meter of him! Anger boiled within him. Traitors, the lot of them. How could they? How _dare_ they? 

 

“How could you..” 

 

Varian shook with anger. “HOW COULD YOU?!” 

 

He glared at the frightened and surprised faces. 

 

“You never cared about me. You only kept me around for the cure!!” 

 

He panted, sweeping his gaze over every face. 

 

“Varian-”

 

“No! You never cared!”

 

He started crawling towards them. With every crawl, the crowd would take a step back.

 

“You’re all selfish, pretentious, callous snobs who don’t give a rat’s ass about a dying kid! I shouldn’t have trusted you. I shouldn’t have fallen for your-” 

 

His harsh words were cut off by violent bouts of coughing. The black guck pushed up into his throat, closing his airway. Varian gripped his neck as he heaved the thick solution out and on to the floor. He managed to catch a breath before more came pouring out. 

 

The sound of gagging and retching was all that filled the throne room. Rapunzel had buried her face into Eugene’s shoulder, unable to watch. She was tempted to cover her ears, to block out the awful sounds her friend was making. Varian was dying, and there was nothing she could do. Maybe he’s right. Maybe she has been selfish. She didn’t pick up on any of the signs that could’ve pointed to the fact that he is sick. She was so absorbed in getting the cure done that she didn’t pay attention to anything else. She was a horrible friend to Varian. He needed help, and she didn’t see it. Now, she’s being punished by watching the young alchemist puke up his blackened insides. 

 

The princess snuck a look at the boy, and her stomach clenched at the sight. The pile of black sludge had grown larger. Varian’s tears had turned black, and the ooze has found its way through his nostrils. 

 

Varian hadn’t been able to take in another breath since the previous inhale. His lungs, or perhaps what was left of them, screamed for air. He couldn’t get what it needed. The slime had completely blocked all of his airways, so it was close to impossible to breathe. His head was starting to spin. 

 

He needs air. 

 

He can’t get it. 

 

The arm he had been using to hold himself up had started trembling as more of the slime poured out of his mouth. It shook so much that it could give out at any moment. 

 

All Varian can see now is the glistening black. All he can hear is the sound of his retching. All he could feel is the cold sweat he had broken out into when he started coughing, and the pain that started in his stomach had spread down to his legs and up almost to where his heart is located.

 

The edges of his vision started to turn black, slowly creeping along toward the centre of his vision. His vision blurred; he blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of it to no avail. The black was getting into his peripheral vision when his eyes rolled back, his brain shutting down completely. Varian felt himself fall and land in something wet. He heaved another mouthful of the slime before becoming still and his vision being engulfed in black.

 

 

The throne room became eerily silent when Varian stopped moving. Everyone stared at the boy’s still body, unsure of what to do. Rapunzel was the first to find her voice.

 

“Varian?”

 

No response.

 

She swallowed.

 

“Varian?” This time a little louder.

 

Still no response.

 

He just laid there in the sludge, unmoving. Part of her refused to believe this was happening. It just can’t be. He’s too young. Rapunzel stepped forward, as though someone had taken over her body. She had to know if this was really happening. 

 

Eugene tried to grab her. 

 

“Rapunzel, don’t!” he called. 

 

“I have to check,” she responded before carefully approaching the young alchemist. She walked a little around to the side of and knelt down to see his face. Varian’s usual flushed face was turning a sickly, pale grey. His lips were parted, dripping with the ooze that was still pushing itself out of him. His face was streaked with black that fell from his eyes. His eyes. They were half-lidded and dull, now more of a grey than their usual bright blue. 

 

Tears brimmed at her eyes, and she covered her mouth with her hands. She looked away from the fourteen-year-old and softly sobbed. Eugene rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. 

 

King Frederic took a breath and turned to Quirin. 

 

“We need to find a cure,” he informed him, “fast. As I understand it, your son had been studying Zhan Tiri’s Tears and was in the process of finding a cure. Do you think you can finish what he started?” 

 

Quirin gazed at his friend, fighting back tears. He curtly nodded. 

 

“Yes, I think I can.”


End file.
